Table 2 Description of included studies
Characteristic | Descriptive statistics n (%) unless otherwise stated NÂ =Â 82 |
|---|---|
Type of trial | |
 Similar surgical procedures | 49 (60) |
 Substantially different procedures | 17 (21) |
 Surgical versus non-surgical management | 15 (18) |
 Surgery versus placebo surgery | 1 (1) |
Number of centres and operators | |
 Single centre | 48 (59) |
 Multi-centre | 32 (39) |
 Unclear | 2 (2) |
Operators in single centre RCTs | |
 Unclear | 20/48 (42) |
 More than one operator but unclear | 3/48 (6) |
 Number of operators reported | 25/48 (52) |
 Median number of operators in single centre RCTs | 2 |
 [25th, 75th centiles] | [1, 3] |
 (Min, max) | (1, 20) |
Operators in multi-centre RCTs | |
 Unclear | 26/32 (81) |
 Number of operators reported | 6/32 (19) |
 Median number of operators in multi-centre RCTs | 5 |
 [25th, 75th centiles] | [5, 6] |
 (Min, max) | (4, 701) |
Number participants | |
 Median | 108 |
 [25th, 75th centiles] | [65, 200] |
 (Min, max) | (15, 2522) |
Region | |
 Africa | 3 (4) |
 America | 16 (20) |
 Asia | 11 (13) |
 Australasia | 3 (4) |
 Europe | 43 (52) |
 Intercontinental | 5 (6) |
 Unclear | 1 (1) |